Page 79 of A Steeping of Blood
Jin’s father beamed at his compliment.
“The moment those doors are opened, the guards will mobilize,” Jin’s mother said. “They’re stationed throughout the sanatorium, with more outside.”
“This is a good moment to bring up that Bloodworth’s guards will be armed for killing vampires,” Jin’s father said. “It’s dangerous.”
That was the first acknowledgment his parents had given about him being a vampire.
“The green darts?” Matteo asked.
He nodded.
“Created by you, I’d like to guess?”
His nod this time was far less assured. “I—”
“Needed to keep yourselves safe, I understand. I’m not unreasonable,” Matteo said with a sniff. “Dangerous, yes, but a shot at an escape is better than none.”
Any other time, Jin would have derided him for thinking he could speak for someone else, but he now knew Matteo saw himself as one of those vampires. He’d put himself in their shoes more than once, as if he was making up for the scores of people who didn’t care for them.
Arthie skimmed through the sketches once more before she glanced at her pocket watch. “Fifteen minutes before Bloodworth’s arrival.”
“And how is he supposedly aiding our escape?” Jin asked.
“By letting us take the keys right off him,” Arthie said. “First, our timing has to be precise—we’ll face guards either way, but if Bloodworth is distracted, we’ll have the element of surprise on our side, and thus extra time. Sora and Shaw, you’ll be splitting up. Sora will go for the switches; Shaw will meet with Bloodworth.”
Arthie looked at her pocket watch, calculating. “Activate the switches at the half hour. We’ll be ready.”
“Are you certain?” Shaw asked. “Bloodworth can be unpredictable.”
“We’ll make it work,” Arthie said. “You’ll meet Bloodworth with us as your prisoners. We’ll apprehend him, snatch the keys, and regroup here”—she tapped at the junction beneath the chandelier—“Shaw, Sora, the vampires, and us.”
“Why there and not at the exit corridor?” Matteo asked.
“At that point, we’ll have a number of guards on our tail, and I aim to make that chandelier a main attraction to aid in our escape. Any other questions?” she asked. “Right. Sora, cuff us.”
Jin thought it very sad indeed that they had equipment to apprehend people readily available in every room. He watched as his mother cuffed Matteo.
“I’m not fond of putting myself in the hands of strangers, you know,” Matteo said.
“They’re not locked,” Sora said, “if that’s any consolation.”
“It’s not.”
Sora patted his cheek and turned to Jin next. “This is the last thing I ever wanted to do to my son.”
Jin tried not to let his apprehension consume him when the cold metal touched his skin. They were unlocked, he reminded himself, and not prone to piercing his flesh the way the captain’s had been.
But when his mother took his umbrella from him and handed it back to his father, Jin felt… off.
Sora turned to Arthie, who was still studying Matteo’s sketches. “Why is this space empty?” Arthie asked. “If it’s to scale, it’s as large as the laboratory. Is it one of your secret rooms?”
“I’d been meaning to ask about that,” Matteo said as he and Jin shuffled closer, and the three of them looked up when neither of his parents answered.
No, they hadpaled.
“Awfully quiet there, Shaw,” Matteo said, widening his stance. “Sora.”
Jin knew, somehow, that this was what his parents had been hiding from them, why his father had been unable tonotspeak with guilt and self-reproach. That numbness crept back into Jin’s veins. He felt his trust crumbling again. It was a fragile tree to begin with, weak bows begging for strength.
